Email: mengyaol7@student.unimelb.edu.au

Affiliation: Asia Institute, the University of Melbourne and Department of Geography, the University of Manchester (joint-degree programme)

Nationality: Chinese

Gender Dimensions of Livelihood Transition: The Experiences of Retired Fisherwomen in China's Nature Reserves

Abstract

In China, the spatial overlap between protected areas and adjacent communities intensifies tensions between ecological conservation and socioeconomic development (Soliku & Schraml, 2018). Against the backdrop of the depletion of fishery resources and the strengthening of watershed ecological governance, an increasing number of fisherpeople are or will soon be displaced from the aquatic ecosystems – oceans, lakes, and rivers – that they rely on for survival, becoming "retired" fisherpeople. This is especially true for river and lake basins within the scope of Nature Reserves. Interventions such as the "Ten-Year Fishing Ban" in the Poyang Lake Nature Reserve and the comprehensive retirement of aquaculture in the Nansi Lake Nature Reserve serve as typical examples. At these sites, while significant ecological improvements (e.g., water quality enhancement and biodiversity recovery) have been achieved (Xinhua, 2023), environmental injustices have been exposed in the process of policy implementation: fisherpeople are coping with livelihood disruptions but their transition to other livelihoods is shaped by systemic risks and vulnerabilities including broken pathways for economic transformation, difficulties in reconstructing their identities, and barriers to re-embedding into the social fabric.

The effects of this transition are gendered, with fisherwomen, who used to play important supporting roles in family fishing and aquaculture and bear disproportionate domestic burdens, being more vulnerable than fishermen in the process of livelihood transition. However, under the existing gendered social norms and roles that inhibit women's coping capacity, existing policy discourse and research regard retired fisherpeople as a homogenously vulnerable group, which hinders a deeper understanding of the gendered dynamics of intensifying ecological governance in China.

This study examines two traditional fishing villages in Nansi Lake Provincial Nature Reserve in Shandong Province and Poyang Lake National Nature Reserve in Jiangxi Province through participant observation, in-depth interviews with fisherwomen, and discourse analysis. By applying the feminist political ecology (FPE) as an analytical framework emphasising power and social inequalities, this paper reveals how, as fisherwomen talk about their experiences of livelihood disruption and transition, they make explicit and implicit arguments about the role of identity, place, and power in their previous fishing practices and current coping strategies. Through a critical review of the literature (e.g., Elmhirst, 2011; Rocheleau, 2008), this research highlights how a feminist political ecology approach can help unpack the power differentials that shape the everyday lived experiences and vulnerability of people impacted by environmental protection. The paper seeks to contribute to sustainable development and environmental justice scholarship by challenging the oversimplification of ecological governance, arguing for a more nuanced understanding of the experiences and needs of marginalised people, and gendered policy interventions within China's nature reserves.

Bio

Mengyao Li is a PhD candidate majoring in Human Geography at the Asia Institute, the University of Melbourne and at the Department of Geography, the University of Manchester (joint-degree programme). Her doctoral research focuses on collaborative watershed governance in urbanising China. She has completed fieldwork in three of China's lake basins and now is at the dissertation writing-up stage. During her doctoral studies, Mengyao has organised/attended and presented at several academic conferences, such as the Royal Geographical Society's Annual Conference 2024, the American Association of Geographers 2024, and the Institute of Australian Geographers Conference 2023. Prior to her doctoral studies, Mengyao worked in international organisations and NGOs on ecological protection and sustainable livelihood practices in rural China, with extensive experience of doing fieldwork and conducting qualitative research in rural areas in China and Southeast Asia. She has published research insights in books, journal articles, influential policy reports, and academic websites, such as "China's Agricultural Cooperation in Southeast, Central and South Asia: Situation, Challenges, and Look Forward", "Global Food Policy Report 2020" of International Food Policy Research Institute, and Made in China Journal.

Mengyao holds a master's degree in Political Economy of Late Development from the London School of Economics. Her research and professional interests focus on the geography of human-nature intersection; urbanisation and sustainable watershed governance; sustainable agriculture and rural livelihood transition. Mengyao is passionate about critical development and agrarian research and policy advocacy in China.